Do Whatever You Want

Hokage's Office.

"Lord Hokage, the Uchiha have accepted your suggestion."

Shisui Uchiha knelt on one knee and faithfully reported what had happened in the meeting room.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled with relief, wrinkles gathering at the corners of his eyes as he nodded in satisfaction.

He admitted that he had approached things the wrong way at first.

Although Uchiha Fugaku was the clan head, he still had to consider what most of his clansmen wanted.

So he had asked Shisui to deliver the appointment letter assigning Sarutobi Shōtarō to atone by becoming a spy to the clan.

His purpose was to let all the Uchiha make the choice.

The facts proved that his thinking had been correct.

At the Uchiha clan meeting, the Pro-Peace Faction had collectively approved his suggestion.

Sarutobi Shōtarō no longer had to die.

When the time came, he would arrange for him to go to a country where there was no danger, then secretly bring him back to the village once some time had passed and things had blown over.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was very angry about his nephew's actions.

At the end of the day, he was the Elder's son and his own nephew.

Surely he couldn't put righteousness before family and have him killed?

Hiruzen Sarutobi might have been capable of it in his younger years, but growing older had softened his heart, leaving him unable to do it.

The brutal deaths of the noodle shop's family of three deeply pained him.

The only thing he could do now was have the Elder pay compensation to their parents.

"Shisui, you did well."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was in an excellent mood.

Having Shisui join the Anbu had simply been the wisest choice.

This way, he could learn the contents of the Uchiha Clan's meetings from him.

He could be said to have gained a loyal informant!

"Lord Hokage, I hope you won't be angry with Jin."

Shisui Uchiha raised his head and hesitated a moment before speaking in Jin's defense.

"He's just stubborn and unwilling to bend. He isn't deliberately trying to oppose you..."

"I know." Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled. "Jin has been conscientious in his duties with the Konoha Military Police Force Troops. How could I possibly be angry with him?"

"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Hokage."

Shisui Uchiha rose and solemnly bowed at a ninety-degree angle, then turned and left the Hokage's Office.

Once Shisui vanished from sight, the smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face slowly faded.

His feelings toward Uchiha Jin were undoubtedly complicated.

If the victim hadn't been his nephew, he really would have admired Jin's strict enforcement of the law.

But that was precisely where the problem lay.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't sure whether Jin was genuinely enforcing the law seriously or deliberately using this method to disgust him.

If it was the former, he was indeed worth nurturing.

If it was the latter, things would be troublesome.

He shook his head and stopped thinking about it, preparing to return to his clan and tell the Elder the good news.

Uchiha Clan Compound.

"Jin, you don't need to be too angry. Those old fools are just like that."

The Second Elder patted Uchiha Jin's shoulder with relief.

"In any case, we old fellows don't have many years left. The future belongs to you young people."

He believed that Jin could lead their clansmen in resisting the village in the future and end the unfair treatment they had endured for years.

"Boy, these are the ninjutsu I've collected."

The Fourth Elder pulled a ninjutsu scroll from inside his clothes.

Both of them regarded Uchiha Jin as the hope for the Hawk Faction's rise, and his personality suited their tastes very well.

They intended to spare no effort in nurturing him.

"Thank you, Elders."

Uchiha Jin had no ill feelings toward the two little old men before him. He accepted the ninjutsu scroll and thanked them solemnly.

"You don't need to concern yourself with what those idiots think."

The Second Elder said meaningfully, "Do whatever you want. If anything goes wrong, I'll back you up."

"And so will I!" the Fourth Elder chimed in repeatedly. "We may be old, but we've still got some fight left in us."

"Mm."

Uchiha Jin nodded, then turned and left under their gratified gazes.

"Do you think he'll dare?"

The Fourth Elder asked with a smile.

"What do you think?"

The Second Elder countered.

They exchanged a look, both smiling with relief.

"Whether the boy dares or not, I'm going to groom him to be the next clan head."

To be honest, they weren't very fond of Uchiha Fugaku as clan head.

He was too content with the status quo and had no opinions of his own.

Now that the Pro-Peace Faction held the majority in the clan, he had sided with them.

If the Hawk Faction held the majority in the future, would he side with them instead?

If that really was the case, this clan head served no purpose at all!

If the clan and the village ever truly reached a point where only one could survive, someone like Uchiha Fugaku would most likely choose to surrender without a fight.

Uchiha ninja didn't need to leave the village on missions. They spent their years maintaining order in the village with the Konoha Military Police Force Troops.

Their clansmen had already lost the fighting spirit they once possessed.

It was precisely for this reason that they had lost quite a few ninja of the younger generation during the last war.

The most outrageous thing was that a Sharingan had even ended up in the hands of someone outside the clan.

The Hawk Faction certainly didn't want anything like that to happen, yet those idiots in the Pro-Peace Faction had said otherwise.

They wouldn't reclaim the Sharingan, claiming that this would demonstrate the Uchiha's magnanimity.

They had been at their wits' end, too.

Several days later.

Inside the Konoha Military Police Force Troops' jail.

Uchiha Fugaku personally opened the cell holding Sarutobi Shōtarō.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Sarutobi Elder stood behind him, their eyes filled with heartache as they looked at the pale-faced Shōtarō.

"Lord Hokage, I have come to deeply understand my mistakes. I will spend the rest of my life as a spy, obtaining intelligence on enemy nations for the village."

Sarutobi Shōtarō solemnly accepted the document and knelt on one knee to receive his undercover assignment.

"Mm."

Hiruzen Sarutobi lightly patted his shoulder and nodded with relief.

"Clan Head Fugaku, could you let me say one last goodbye to my wayward son?"

Hearing the Sarutobi Elder's request, Uchiha Fugaku naturally had no reason to refuse. He took the initiative to leave, giving them an opportunity to talk.

Half an hour later.

Sarutobi Shōtarō left the village as Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Sarutobi Elder watched him go.

Although the process had taken a few twists and turns, the boy finally no longer had to die.

As long as he left Konoha, he would be completely safe.

"Clan Head Fugaku, why haven't I seen Jin today?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly realized that he hadn't seen Jin at the Konoha Military Police Force Troops that day and couldn't help asking curiously.

"Lord Hokage, I don't know his whereabouts."

Uchiha Fugaku shook his head. "Shall I find his teammates and ask?"

Normally, there would have been no point in asking about something like this, but Hiruzen Sarutobi kept feeling uneasy.

"Then go ahead and ask."

They returned to the Konoha Military Police Force Troops and found Uchiha Xuan and Uchiha Xi. Faced with their clan head's questions, neither dared conceal anything.

Uchiha Jin hadn't come to work at the Konoha Military Police Force Troops at all that day.

"Look into Uchiha Jin's whereabouts."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, and the Anbu around him left.

Ten minutes later.

An Anbu knelt before him on one knee. "Lord Hokage, Uchiha Jin accepted a C-rank escort mission this morning and left the village."

At these words, the expressions of everyone present froze.

Although those who joined the Konoha Military Police Force Troops didn't need to carry out missions, no one would stop them if they actually went to accept one.

"This is bad!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly realized why Jin had abruptly left the village.

He was clearly going after Shōtarō!

"Someone, come out of the village with me!"